A mother was wrongly accused of putting her 11-year-old son at “significant risk of harm” by a top psychiatrist at The Priory who never met the parents or child.

Dr Emma Whicher claimed that Lucy Allan, a prospective MP, had a temporary bout of depression that would have a “significant impact on her parenting”.

The false concerns added to fears that her son would be taken into care and forced the ex-investment banker to stand down as a Conservative councillor, quit as a school governor and remove herself from David Cameron’s A-list of potential MPs.

She spent £10,000 on legal fees to clear her name and protect her family from further action by officials at Wandsworth council. Ms Allan told the Standard: “An eminent ‘expert’ passed judgment on my parenting abilities without my knowledge and without having met me or my son.

“Wandsworth council relied on this opinion and disregarded factual evidence from those that knew my family and from independent professionals who had met me, all of whom concluded our son had not been at risk at any time.

“The odds are completely stacked against any family that comes onto the radar of social services.”

Ms Allan, 48, began to feel depressed last March. She saw a young locum who asked for advice from Peter Green, a consultant forensic physician and head of child safeguarding in Wandsworth, who also did not see Ms Allan in person.

Unknown to Ms Allan, Wandsworth social services held an “anonymous consultation” with Dr Whicher, who was employed in a personal capacity.

Without meeting Ms Allan or her son — whose identity we are protecting — and based only on information provided by social services, the psychiatrist stated her depression would have a “significant impact on her parenting”.

Child protection officials apparently ignored evidence from the boy’s teachers who stated he was “happy and thriving” and an independent NHS psychiatrist’s report that concluded Ms Allan was “no risk to anyone, including her son”. It was not until Christmas that social services officially confirmed they were taking no action.

But her son’s record now states that his mother was once considered a “significant risk” — a finding that will remain on his file for 22 years.

Lawyer Paul Grant of Bernard, Chill and Axtell said: “Wrongfully removing a child from its parents is one of the gravest abuses of power. We are organising a class action against the Government for failing in its duty to preserve the right to family life.”

Dr Whicher said: “I am unable to comment due to patient confidentiality.” Wandsworth council said: “We refute Ms Allan’s claims but in the interests of the privacy of her family, we will be making no further comment.”